Ollie Watkins[1] has been sent home from England[2]‘s camp with an injury.
The Aston Villa[3] forward scored in England’s 3-0 win over Wales on Thursday evening, but sustained a knock against them and has not recovered.
He will miss their World Cup qualifier against Latvia on Tuesday, where the Three Lions could secure their place at the 2026 World Cup.
In a statement released on Monday morning, the FA said: ‘Ollie Watkins has been ruled out of England’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Latvia.
‘The Aston Villa striker has not recovered from the knock sustained against Wales at Wembley on Thursday evening and has returned to his club. A squad of 22 will travel to Riga.’
Watkins’ absence creates a selection headache for Thomas Tuchel[4] after Harry Kane[5] missed the victory over Wales through injury.
Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins has been forced to withdraw from England’s squad due to injury
Watkins collided with the post during the Three Lions’ 3-0 win over Wales on Thursday
Kane suffered a knock to his foot in Bayern Munich’s final match before the international break, although he is expected to be fit for the Latvia clash and trained with his England team-mates on Monday.
Speaking ahead of the Wales game, Tuchel had said: ‘Harry will miss the game. He got a kick in his last match with Bayern Munich.
‘It was too painful to kick a ball, it was too risky that he gets another kick and will just like be in an up and down situation pain-wise, so we gave him the chance that everything calms down.
‘We are convinced that he will be ready for the match against Latvia.’
In his absence, Watkins scored within 10 minutes but then collided with a post on the stroke of half time as he tried to get on the end of cross from Elliot Anderson.
The striker limped off gingerly at half-time and he was replaced by Marcus Rashford for the second period, with Tuchel experimenting with Anthony Gordon as a makeshift striker.
Speaking after the game, Tuchel had then provided an update on Watkins.
‘He’s ok,’ the German explained. ‘It was a clear goal normally for him, but unfortunately, he saw the ball too late and couldn’t score and crashed into the post.
Harry Kane was absent vs Wales but is set to be fit against Latvia after returning to training
‘It was very, very painful, but as I understand it now, it’s only painful, so no harm done.’
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If Kane isn’t fit for the game in Latvia, Gordon would be a candidate to lead the line again, while Jarrod Bowen and Rashford may also become options for Tuchel.
Given Kane is England’s undisputed talisman and captain, the Wales clash had been a rare opportunity for Watkins to impress.
His goal was welcomed given the 29-year-old has endured a difficult start to the season for Villa, scoring just once in 10 games.
Watkins maintained his impressive record for England though, which has seen him score six times in 20 caps, although just seven of those appearances have been starts.
References
- ^ Ollie Watkins (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ England (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Aston Villa (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Thomas Tuchel (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Harry Kane (www.dailymail.co.uk)